Going to college is a goal for many students graduating high school.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In October 2017, 66.7 percent of 2017 high school graduates age 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges or universities. Among persons age 20 to 29 who received a bachelor's degree in 2017, 77.6 percent were employed.” The full realization of how much college costs may only be fully grasped after receiving an acceptance letter. Unfortunately, unless financial planning starts years earlier, many students’ dreams may be dashed, or cumbersome borrowing could become a burden that follows them for years to come.

Just over one year removed from graduation, I feel like I am a competent practitioner. But being simply competent isn’t enough--being the best that I can be is my goal. Thinking back, I realize there were a handful of things I could have done in school that would have benefitted me in the working world. On occasion, when I'm working on a particularly difficult patient, I reflect on my undergraduate and graduate school careers and sometimes think, “If I could redo it, I would.…” We all have things in our lives we wish we could change; that’s just part of living. What if we didn’t make those mistakes in the first place? We can’t change it, but I realized that others can learn from our mistakes. I am writing this blog post with that in mind. I want to share, as a new doctor, the things that I would do differently and what some of my more experienced peers would do differently.

If you are looking for ways to diversify your practice or to distinguish yourself from other integrative practitioners, health coaching skills offer a unique advantage, according to Joel Kreisberg, DC, PCC, a presenter at NCLC 2018. If you are interested in innovative care models and increasing your satisfaction with work, health coaching provides an opportunity for both. You do not have to give up any of what you are doing already; just shift to a relationship-centered care model, which facilitates growth and healing for patients and practitioners. 

 

Some of the most valuable knowledge you gain in the Veterans Affairs (VA) chiropractic residency program comes from rotating in other specialties. Within the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Stephanie Halloran, DC, rotates at both the West Haven and Newington locations. Thus far, she has spent time in rheumatology, physiatry, women’s clinic (primary care), neurology, pain medicine and the interventional pain clinic. Although she says each rotation has contributed greatly to her clinical acumen, in this post she primarily focuses on what she learned in pain medicine.

*Member-Exclusive Content* In this first blog post in a series of three discussing how to be selected for one of the five VA residencies, I’ll be outlining the application process and providing an in-depth guide of how to write a solid personal statement. Subsequent blog posts will cover finding recommendations, completing the necessary application requirements and preparing yourself for an interview.  Some of the information will be from the VA’s residency website while other parts are based on the personal experiences and opinions of current VA residents.

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